Northland mum Jaynie Cumming has appealed to other mother's to supply her with breast milk after she underwent a double mastectomy. Generous mums have responded by donating milk for her one-year-old son Bastian. But it raises the question of why there are no milk banks in New Zealand. Kristin Edge reports.
BASTIAN Cumming curls his pudgy pink fingers around his mother's hand as he suckles on a bottle of breast milk.
The 1-year-old gazes adoringly up at his mum Jaynie as he drinks. She gently brushes strands of white-blonde hair from his forehead.
It's a beautiful snapshot of a mother and child moment, but there's more to this picture than meets the eye.
Just over a month ago the 33-year-old mother of three had a double mastectomy but she wants to continue feeding her youngest son breast milk.
She believes that breastfeeding is essential to raising her children and hopes to feed her son this milk for at least another six months.
In some countries she could rely on a milk bank to help her out, but here she is relying on the goodwill of other mothers to donate.
The idea of sharing breast milk might gross some people out but women are quietly doing it all over the country. For Jaynie the request is totally natural.
Having breast-fed for almost the past four years, and at times tandem feeding Bastian and his brother Raife, being unable to feed naturally has been heartbreaking for Jaynie.
"I love it so much. It's part of who I am and how I do things. That's one of the things that defines me."
But Jaynie is practical.
"You do what it takes. To me it seemed so simple. I can't give him my milk so I will give him someone else's."
Jaynie met Daniel when she was 19 and in 2002 they married.
She trained as a midwife while he worked at University of Waikato in the carbon-dating section. He took over the parental duties as a stay-at-home dad when the children started arriving.
The couple moved to a rural property at Pakaraka, in the Bay of Islands, with son Charlie in 2008. Then came son number two, Raife, and their third boy Bastian.
"Every baby has the right to breast feed ... it's what they are born to do. It's what our breasts are for and babies should wean when they are ready.
"Sometimes breast-feeding isn't easy and you have to learn. But it's about giving them the best you can give them and that's breast milk."
In April this year everything Jaynie believed in about breast feeding was to come tumbling down. She discovered a lump in her left breast.
Initially the lump was sore and the milk flow came and went.
She never felt ill but a visit to the doctor led to an appointment at a breast clinic.
It was invasive cancer - but worse news was to come. During the last check-up with the doctor, 10 days out from operation day, a lump was found in her right breast.
Jaynie describes it as "pretty much the worst day of my life".
"I worry that I don't know how to mother without breastfeeding.
"How will I console them the way they need it? How will I stop the middle of the night wake-ups without a nipple to offer? How will I hold my baby while he nuzzles at a bare chest and still be able to meet his needs? I feel like I am lost."
However, her call for help has seen women from around the country respond. An old school friend has helped with the collection and delivery.
"It's been extraordinary. A month ago I didn't know these people and now they are an integral part of my family."
But it raises the question why there are no longer milk banks in New Zealand to help mums. Milk banks were common in New Zealand until the 1970s when they closed their doors as a result of fears about HIV and the proliferation of special baby formula.
So how do they work? Are they safe?
Mothers Milk NZ is a group united in the belief New Zealand must join the rest of the world in setting up a milk bank. The group hopes to lobby the Ministry of Health.
"We are sure this will change very soon as many different neonatal units around New Zealand are working very hard towards opening one soon. Sick and premature babies soon will be having the wonderful opportunity of a gift of pasteurised donor human milk if their mothers are not able to provide enough breast milk of their own," the website states.
"Not all mothers are able to produce or supply healthy human breast milk for their premature infants. One of the biggest hurdles these babies will face will be to gain enough weight to survive. Breast is proven far more beneficial than formula or cows milk. By making the decision to donate milk, you could have a significant impact on the lives of these infants and their families."
A Christchurch group is already planning to set up a milk bank. Members want to collect, screen, pasteurise and store donor milk for sick, premature and small babies whose mothers can't supply sufficient milk.
Christchurch Women's Hospital neonatal pediatrician Maggie Meeks says there would be testing of donor mothers' milk and a coded system of where it was going.
There are no Ministry of Health regulations around the collection and distribution of breast milk, but donors to Christchurch's milk bank will be screened and the milk pasturised to minimise any potential risk.
Babies would be able to have human milk straight away without having to be fed formula.
One of the scheme's backers, breastfeeding advocate Carol Bartle, says giving milk is like giving life, just like giving blood is.
Another group at Wellington Hospital is also trying to establish a milk bank. Who knows - there could soon be one in Northland.
Until then, Jaynie is relying on mums around the country to help her out.
"I am in awe of the support from people everywhere. All around the world I am getting messages of prayers and wishes from people I may never have otherwise connected with. It's really overwhelming and incredibly humbling to be lifted up by so many."
Jaynie has a strong message for all women. She says there is no family history of breast cancer and it was only because of trouble breast feeding that she discovered her own.
She urges women to check themselves regularly.
"Feel for lumps and anything that is remotely different. You should have lady lumps and that's it."
* Click on Boob 2 Babe Facebook page for more information about Jaynie and how to donate milk.
The milk of human kindness
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